The Most Alone
by drakien
Summary: The greatest of men are the most alone. HGSS, rated K


_The greatest men are the most alone._

Hermione stepped onto the stairwell revealed by the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office. She had received a meeting request at dinner earlier that evening, and was unaccountably nervous. Had she done something wrong? Failed a test? Had something happened to her parents? Gah! She _hated_ vague meeting requests…she always immediately assumed the worst and got herself worked up for nothing. It was probably something simple and ridiculous like going over the Prefects duty-roster.

Coming to the office door, Hermione knocked firmly, making sure none of her nervousness showed. She'd become very good at hiding her emotions in the last year, and nobody realized the amount of turmoil that seethed beneath the surface of her calm and collected façade.

"Come in, Miss Granger," the Headmaster called. "Really, no need to be nervous; nothing is wrong."

Nobody except Albus bloody Dumbledore, anyway.

"You asked to see me, Headmaster?"

"Yes, yes, of course! Have a seat. Muddy Bear?"

She blinked. "Pardon?"

"Muddy Bear," he repeated. "It's an interesting Muggle sweet I've recently discovered…they take a normal gummy bear and cover it in chocolate."

The corner of her mouth turned up. So long as he was offering bizarre sweets, nothing could be _too_ out of the ordinary.

"Thank you, Sir, but I've just come from dinner."

"Ah well," he said, placing the dish back on his desk. "Now then, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here today."

"I have to say, I was a bit surprised by the invitation," she admitted. "Did you want to discuss the Prefect patrol schedules?"

Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively. "No, no," he assured her, "I'm sure you've got that perfectly in hand. What I actually called you here for was to ascertain your willingness to take on a type of…extracurricular project."

With a flick of his wand, he'd set strong wards and silencing charms on his office, and had banished the portraits. Hermione raised an eyebrow. This was _certainly_ not about Prefect scheduling.

Looking quite serious, all vestiges of the dotty old man gone, he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk.

"As I am sure you are aware, there are members of the Order here at Hogwarts, most notably among your professors."

When Hermione nodded, he continued. "Miss Granger…Hermione…I'm going to trust you, in this instance, to keep the information shared in this room to yourself."

Her eyes widened, but she nodded solemnly. "Of course, Sir."

"Hermione, the time of the final confrontation is fast approaching. I estimate we have no more than a year, at the most 18 months, before Harry will face off with Tom. When that happens, you will be at his side, as you have always been, and I have no doubt that you will do everything in your considerable power to help him."

He took a deep breath. "What I must ask of you now is to help someone else. The closer we get to the battle, the more demands are being made on the members of the Order. With so little outside help, we are stretched all too thin."

"I would be happy to help in any way I can, Headmaster. Does Professor McGonagall…"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It is not Minerva I'm worried about at the moment." He removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes tiredly…the first outward sign of the turmoil underneath his stoic façade.

"I would like you to agree to be Severus's personal assistant for the remainder of the year."

The words hit like a bombshell, and she said the first thing that came into her head.

"But Professor Snape hates me!" she protested.

Dumbledore smiled faintly. "He does not hate you," he corrected. "He fears you. And he envies you."

That brought her up short. "What?"

The Headmaster sighed. "In you, Severus sees someone very much like he was as a student; clever, incredibly curious, with an unparalleled academic drive. No blushes, my child…you stand out from your peers. Severus was just that way when he first came to Hogwarts, but where you have the love and support of your friends, he…did not. I will not go into detail, for it is not my place, but I regret a great many of the decisions I made when he walked these halls as a student.

"He envies you those friendships, for it was something he desperately craved but never had. And he fears you, because in your brilliance and drive is the potential to step down a dark and dangerous path in the noble search of knowledge…something he knows from personal experience."

Hermione thought carefully about what she'd just heard. All of those years of hateful comments, of contemptuous sneers…because he was envious of the life she had? It was completely ridiculous, and at the same time, made perfect sense. She looked at Dumbledore, who had clearly been waiting patiently for her to process the new information she'd received.

"If I took the position," she said slowly, making sure to stress the '_if'_ slightly, "what would my duties be?"

The Headmaster twinkled at her. It was somewhat annoying.

"I would ask you to take over some of the basic brewing for the Infirmary. You would also be grading the First through Third year's essays, and preparing ingredients for his classes. Any additional duties would be up to him to assign.

"In recompense, he said he would be willing to…how was it he phrased it?" Dumbledore searched for something on his desk, coming up with a scrap of parchment. "Ah yes! 'Willing to grant the meddlesome Know-It-All supervised access to my personal library.'" He met her eyes and grinned.

Bugger; he had her hooked, and the sly old man knew it.

Hermione absently wondered what the Headmaster had threatened Professor Snape with, to have him make such an offer. She sighed resignedly, already revising her schedule in her head.

"Hermione," the Headmaster said quietly, drawing her attention. "Severus has spent his entire life alone, for one reason or another. I won't lie to you…things will happen this year, dreadful things, and Severus will be caught up in them whether he likes it or not. It is the path he must walk.

"What I am trying to do…what needs to be done…is to give him something to hold on to, an eye in the storm. Someone to remind him that he's not really alone. He is a great man, and while he has been a solitary man for decades, he now needs someone he can depend on."

Letting those last words hang in the air for a moment, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and clapped his hands together, breaking the wards he'd set on the room and shattering the mood.

"Professor Snape said he would see you this evening at 8pm to discuss your new duties and schedule. I believe this leaves you…15 minutes to reach the dungeons."

She nodded and stood.

"Miss Granger," he stopped her before she could reach the door, the formality of her name emphasizing the role they both played.

"Sir?"

"No matter what happens this year, promise me…you will always trust Severus."

Hermione pressed her lips together resolutely and nodded. "No matter what," she echoed, then left.

* * *

She stopped just outside the entrance, where the gargoyle deposited her, and thought back over the entire bizarre conversation. She wondered absently what it would have been like to go to school where there were no Dark Lords, where no one had any sort of agenda…where the only role she had to fulfill was that of a normal student.

Then she shook her head and smiled ruefully. It didn't matter; whether she wished it different or not, her place was here, fighting to rid the world of an evil monster. And among her many roles…

Hermione squared her shoulders and started towards the dungeons. If she had her way, Severus Snape would never have to worry about being alone again.


End file.
